Big drama in the hen house

I got home tonight to a big, upsetting drama.

One of my darling chookies has a very badly hurt bottom, all bleeding and bare of feathers. Another chookie has a bare bum too.

When Howard got home we grabbed Kate and brought her inside. We have cleaned her up and concluded that she has been pecked, very savagely.

She is now sleeply, rather indignantly, in a cat box in the bathroom for the night. We havefilled in with shredded paper and she has a water bowl. She will be able to recover there.

We will check the other girls in the morning.  There is a farm store down the road so I'll dash down in the morning and see if they have an ointment or spray to help her heal.

Then on the weekend we'll see about extending their run. I am concerned that they are pecking because they don't have enough space.  We have not had any problems, in fact they have always seemed to get on really well. But the last two weeks we have been really busy so they have not been out of their coop. Normally we only let them out when we are home because there are foxes around.

So, I feel horribly guilty and distressed at failing them. I know there are plenty of chooks with far worse lives but I want my girls to be happy.

I'll keep you posted about the trials and tribulations of keeping chooks.

And a BIG thank you to everyone I phoned tonight for help. Thank you!